Fruita Mountain Water Properties

Enoch's Lake and Fruita Mountain Water Properties Information

Below, you can read about the history of the Fruita Mountain Water Properties, including information on the sale of Enoch's Lake. Read the resolution on Fruita Mountain Water Properties from the Fruita City Council.

Timeline and Information on Enoch's Lake and Fruita's Mountain Properties

After the Fruita City Council approved to move the offer forward through the ordinance process that was reviewed on November 13, 2023, two public meetings on the ordinance were scheduled. The first reading took place on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, during the regular City Council meeting. The second reading took place on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. During the second public hearing Fruita City Council accepted the offer and approved the sale of Enoch's Lake.
During the regular City Council meeting on September 19, 2023, the Fruita City Council decided on a process for moving forward with putting Enoch's Lake up for sale. Enoch's Lake was listed on the real estate market in early October 2023 and was listed for 40 days until November 8, 2023. After the listing ended, Fruita City Council reviewed the one offer submitted during the City Council meeting on Monday, November 13, 2023. The offer was made by Stan Muhr, Rodney C. Power and Ronald E. Tipping for a purchase price of $500,000 and forgiveness of $145,393.35 of non-monetary obligation to Mr. Tipping per the 2013 Agreement between the City of Fruita and Mr. Tipping. After reviewing the offer, the Fruita City Council decided to move the offer forward to the next steps, which include Ute Water's first right of refusal and the City's ordinance process with two public hearings.
During the regular City Council meeting on September 19, 2023, the Fruita City Council decided on a process for moving forward with putting Enoch's Lake up for sale. Enoch's Lake will be listed on the real estate market in early October 2023 and will be listed for 40 days until November 8, 2023. After the listing ends, Fruita City Council will meet during a City Council meeting on November 13, 2023, to review the offers received. After reviewing the offers, the Fruita City Council can decide to move an offer forward to the next steps, which include Ute Water's first right of refusal and the City's ordinance process with two public hearings.
Also, during the regular City Council meeting on September 19, 2023, the Fruita City Council decided on a process for the city's other mountain properties - Reservoir #1, Reservoir #2, and a 125-acre parcel of land. Fruita City Council decided they will offer these properties as a donation, after Ute Water's first right of refusal, to public entities in the area including Mesa County, the U.S. Forest Service, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
During the special City Council meeting on August 29, 2023, the Fruita City Council denied Ordinance 2023-07 regarding the sale of Enoch Lake. The City Council then approved Ordinance 2023-08, selling a two-acre parcel of land located on Pinion Mesa.
During the regular City Council meeting on July 18, 2023, the agenda consisted of the second reading for Ordinance 2023-07, Ordinance 2023-08, and Ordinance 2023-09. Each ordinance went through the public hearing process, and Fruita City Council listened to all public comments received about each ordinance. After public comment and discussion, the Fruita City Council decided to continue the public hearing for Ordinance 2023-07 and Ordinance 2023-08 until the scheduled Special Meeting on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Continuing the hearing allows more time to receive community feedback. The Fruita City Council did approve Ordinance 2023-09, an Ordinance authorizing the conveyance of real property of the City referred to as 4.05-Acre Parcel located on Pinon Mesa. The approval of Ordinance 2023-09 moved forward the sale of the 4.05-acre parcel, which has no water rights and is completely surrounded by private property.
During the regular City Council meeting on June 20, 2023, Fruita City Council approved the Ordinance authorizing the conveyance of water rights and real property of the City referred to as Enoch’s Lake located on Pinon Mesa for publication of a public hearing on July 18, 2023.
The City contracted with Arnie Butler & Associates, who specialize in ranch, farmland, and commercial appraisals throughout the State of Colorado. This property and water rights were appraised at $425,000. The offer received by the city is higher than the appraised value. Find more details on the appraised value.
The unsolicited offer the City received from Mr. Ronald Tipping, Mr. Rod Powers, and Stan Muhr was for $500,000, plus the satisfaction of $140,000 of non-monetary performance obligation arising out of the dam repairs the City currently owes to Mr. Tipping for labor and materials in connection with repair work Mr. Tipping completed in 2007 on Mirror Lake Reservoir No. 1, also known as Enoch’s Lake and repairs made in 2009 to Reservoir #1. The total cost of these repairs was $484,764.04 ($124,232.13 for Reservoir No. 1 and $360,531.91 for Enoch’s Lake). These potential buyers already own the land surrounding Enoch’s Lake.

Additional Information from City Council Meetings

All City Council meetings are recorded and can be watched online at fruita.org/meetings.
Enoch's Lake Informational Handout from the July 18, 2023, City Council meeting.
Presentation on Enoch's Lake from the July 18, 2023, City Council meeting.

Fruita Mountain Property Overview

The City of Fruita owns four reservoirs on Pinon Mesa and maintains the over 600 acre-feet of water rights associated with them. These water rights were historically (prior to 1980) used to supply domestic water to the City of Fruita. However, as Fruita grew, these water rights could not adequately serve their historic use. The City now maintains these water rights on Pinion Mesa for recreational uses and delivers water to the Glade Park area for irrigation.

The City’s four reservoirs are Enoch's Lake, Fruita Reservoir #1, Fruita Reservoir #2, and Fruita Reservoir #3. Fruita Reservoirs #1- #3 are surrounded by or adjacent to U.S. Forest Service property and are open to the public for recreational uses and fishing. Although the land around Enoch's Lake is owned by the City of Fruita and the lake is open to recreational use, the land adjacent to Enoch's Lake is privately owned, so users are asked not to cross the fences that surround the lake. The City maintains the day-use only area at Enoch's Lake that includes vault toilets and picnic tables available on a first come basis. The three Fruita Reservoirs do allow for primitive camping and have nearby Forest Service camping areas. All reservoirs can be accessed by heading south from Glade Park on 16 ½ Road and are shown on the map below.

Area Maps

These reservoirs are located an hour's drive from Fruita near Glade Park, CO. This area is called the Fruita Division of the Grand Mesa National Forest.

Map of the Fruita Mountain Properties

History of the Fruita Mountain Water Properties

Historically, (prior to 1980), these reservoirs supplied domestic water to Fruita. As Fruita grew, the water from the reservoirs was not sufficient for Fruita. In 1983 (when Fruita’s population was only 3,668), Fruita entered into an agreement with Ute Water to become the domestic water provider in Fruita. Knowing that water resources in the western United States were limited, the City of Fruita decided to retain these water rights. Today, it is not possible to bring the water into Fruita City limits and there is not a pipeline from the reservoirs to the City (Fun Fact! The original pipeline was 23 miles and made of wood. The pipeline was built by hand and laid by hand in the late 1800s from Pinon Mesa and over the Colorado National Monument’s terrain to supply Fruita’s original drinking water starting in 1907). Even if there was a way to feasibly get the water to Fruita, it is not enough to supply the nearly 14,000 residents who live here, as it was not enough when there were less than 4,000 residents.

Historic Timeline

1884 – Town of Fruita was established.
1894 – Mayor Betts filed first water decrees on Pinon Mesa.
1902 – Addison McCune was hired to survey pipeline alignment.
1906-1909 – Construction took place of the wooden pipeline.
1932 – Fruita Reservoir #3 was constructed.
1935 – Fruita Reservoir #2 was constructed.
1949 – Fruita Reservoir #1 was constructed.
1957 – Enochs Lake was constructed.
1959 – Fruita Reservoir #2 was enlarged.
1977 - Fruita acquires water rights on the Colorado River.
1981 – Fruita becomes a city.
1983 - Fruita contracts with Ute Water to provide water instead of supplying water from the Fruita Mountain Properties.
1990 – Fruita Reservoirs opened to the public for recreation.
2005 – Enoch Lake was reconstructed.
2009 - Reconstruction of Reservoir #1 Dam.
2013 – Reconstruction of Reservoir #3 Spillway.
2016 – Fruita Reservoir #2 Storage Restrictions.
2016 - Enoch’s Lake changed to Day Use Only.

Challenges of Maintaining the Properties Today

The City of Fruita faces multiple challenges for managing these four reservoirs.

General Challenges

Most of the reservoirs are not actually located on property owned by the City of Fruita.
Managing land so far from the City Keeping the reservoirs accessible to the public.
Challenges related to recreation, including illegal camping, damage to private property, fires outside fire pits, discharging firearms, safety - limited resources, and no cell service.

Challenges Related to Enoch's Lake

Managing land that is not within the city limits and roughly 36 miles, north of the Colorado National Monument, from the city.
The lake is surrounded by private property.
Challenges related to recreation – illegal camping, trespassing, theft, vandalism and other damages to private property, fire outside fire pits and left unattended, illegal fireworks, discharging firearms, discarding trash on private property, using private property to discard human fecal waste, numerous calls to law enforcement over the years, which led to the closing of overnight camping following consultation with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and surrounding private property owners in 2016.
There are limited resources (I.e. limited to no cell service) on Pinon Mesa and long response times to get to the site. o During the final years the site was open for overnight camping, the city could not keep up with the necessary trash clean-up while sending a crew to the property 3 times per week.
Water from Enoch's Lake cannot be delivered to or used within the city’s limits as there is no pipeline to Fruita, nor would it be feasible to construct through the Colorado National Monument.
Even if water could reach the Fruita city limits, the water from Enoch Lake was once part of a system, which included 3 other reservoirs, which could not adequately serve the Fruita population of 3,668 residents in 1980. This is why the city in the early 1980’s began contracting with Ute Water Conservancy District to provide the Fruita community with drinking water.
Utilizing city resources over an hour drive away to manage this property, pulling those resources out of the demands of core services within city limits is not an efficient use of resources considering there is no value received in the city for the property/water rights.

Hazards

Reservoir #1 and #2 are classified as significant hazard dams which is defined as a dam for which significant damage is expected to occur, but no loss of life is expected from failure of the dam. Significant damage is defined as damage to structures where people generally live, work, or recreate, or public or private facilities.
No-Fill Order on Reservoir #2. Repairing the dam at Reservoir #2. Fruita Reservoir #2 is currently on a “No Fill Order” by the State of Colorado Division of Water Resources. This means the City is losing 168 acre feet of water storage volume. The City of Fruita’s goal is to repair Fruita Reservoir #2, removing the “No Fill” order by the State of Colorado Division of Water Resources to allow water storage in the reservoir. By repairing the reservoir, water storage volume and water quality would increase. The repair would provide improved delivery of water for agriculture water management, water quality management, and public recreation. To help fix Reservoir #2, the City of Fruita is working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Watershed Program for planning assistance. Through the NRCS, the City of Fruita will determine how feasible it will be to fix Reservoir #2.

Expenses

Capital Projects 2004 - 2016

The total project expenses reflected in this table do not include expenses related to salaries of City Staff for project management, nor do they include expenses incurred by the Army National Guard on Reservoir #1.
Year	Project	Costs
2004	Pipeline Measurement Improvements	$26,869
2005	Enochs Dam Repair	$387,407
2006	Reservoir #2 Repairs	$10,000
2008	Reservoir #1 Design & Permitting	$115,818
2009	Reservoir #1 Dam Reconstruction	$637,051
2012	Reservoir #3 Spillway Design	$46,723
2013	Reservoir #3 Spillway Construction	$96,881
2016	Reservoir #2 Safety Evaluation	$45,300
Total		$1,339,181

Staffing and Maintenance Expenses 2004 - 2022